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Tracking a Foam Front in a 3D, Heterogeneous Porous Medium

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Abstract

Foam is to be used as a blocking agent for confining a pollutant source zone and avoid spreading in an aquifer. To this end, it is necessary to determine where injected foam flows and stays inside a porous medium. This study examines the use of electrical resistivity tomography for this purpose. Foam is injected in a large-scale 3D heterogeneous porous medium (0.84 × 0.84 × 0.84 m). During the injection, electrical resistivity tomography measurements are performed. We show that combining a large number of measurements with inversion techniques allows for the monitoring of a foam front in 3D during the injection process.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. École nationale d’ingénieurs de Saint-Étienne (ENISE), Saint-Étienne, France

    C. S. Boeije

  2. Bordeaux INP – ENSEGID, Pessac, France

    C. S. Boeije, C. Portois, M. Schmutz & O. Atteia

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  1. C. S. Boeije
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  2. C. Portois
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  3. M. Schmutz
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  4. O. Atteia
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Correspondence to C. S. Boeije.

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Boeije, C.S., Portois, C., Schmutz, M. et al. Tracking a Foam Front in a 3D, Heterogeneous Porous Medium. Transp Porous Med 131, 23–42 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11242-018-1185-0

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